AMD Optimal BIOS settings + Overclocking Guide

A step by step guide on how to get the most out of your AMD setup. Overclocking tips and BIOS tweak settings discussed, as well as an overview of the more popular overclocking tools with local download links!

highest CPU speed and FSB

You have two ways of doing this... we'll start with the easiest.

TAKE NOTES ALONG THE WAY WITH PEN & PAPER

DON'T FORGET TO WATCH THE CPU TEMPS ALL THE TIME. NEVER LET IT GET ABOVE 55°C IN MY OPINION ON AIRCOOLING, OR 42°C USING WATERCOOLING.

For the best performance on nForce2 boards keep the multiplier above 11x.

Set CPU Interface to "Enabled" for the highest clock speeds but lower performance in benchmarks leave CPU Interface "Disabled".

Finding the Highest CPU speed Mhz

1. Go into Bios, Softmenu II/III option...2. Change Multiplier from AUTO to 10.5 (10.5x133=1400)3. Reboot4. Back to Bios.5. Increase multiplier one notch (10.5 to 11)6. Reboot & go into windows7. Run a Sandra CPU Burn-in & 3DMark 2k1 to check stability8. If either of above gives a blue screen or crashes, go back to bios and increase Cpu vCore voltage one notch.9. If the settings don't produce a blue screen or a crash, back to bios, increase multiplier one notch. go back to #6

Round and round you go, until you get to the chips max Mhz...Remember that figure. You could stop here and have a nicely overclocked chip on multiplier alone, but that makes you a wuss ;)

Now you have the max Mhz, you need to do some maths. We want to achieve the same speed that you topped out on above, but using a higher FSB and a lower multiplier.

Finding the Highest FSB speed

1. Into BIOS. Divide your top speed so far by 166. Round to nearest single decimal place, and set your multiplier to that. Set your FSB to 166.2. Reboot, into windows, benchmark / test3. Any problems, blue screens or crashes, back to bios, increase Ram voltage, try again.4. If no problems, then back to bios, and take that highest speed and divide it by 176. Set multiplier to the answer, and set FSB to 176. Back to #25. Keep going!! Take the Max CPU Speed, divide by 180, back to #26. Divide by 1967. Divide by 200

Now, you'll get to a point where that FSB just won't go any higher.... remember that number.

The above settings are more or less the best settings any AMD board has to offer at the moment, and provide maximum performance, BUT your ram is highly unlikely to be able to achieve these speeds at anything above your memory's stock speeds unless its good stuff. Here's where the choices come flooding in from Samsung to Geil to OCZ to Winbond to Kingmax to Corsair... everyone wants the best stick of ram to achieve the above settings at high fsbs such as 200+.

So you now need to spend a lot of time getting your settings as close to these as possible at as high an FSB as possible.

Start off setting the following: (from top down) 2-4-3-6-3-4-4-2-2 9 (6-3-3-2 on nForce2 boards)Reboot, run a Sisoft Sandra memory bench. If any problems, increase memory voltage.

Now, back in and try: 2-4-2-6-3-4-4-2-2. (6-3-2-2 on nForce2 boards)Reboot, Sandra.

Next up: 2-4-2-6-2-4-4-2-2 (6-2-2-2 on nForce2 boards)

Next up: 2-4-2-5-3-4-4-2-2 (5-3-2-2 on nForce2 boards)

Next up: 2-4-2-5-2-4-4-2-2 (5-2-2-2 on nForce2 boards)

Then: 2-4-2-5-2-4-4-1-2 (n/a on nForce2 boards)

then: 2-4-2-5-2-4-3-1-2 (n/a on nForce2 boards)

and finally: 2-4-2-5-2-4-2-1-2 (n/a on nForce2 boards)

The further down that list you got, the better your memory bandwidth became. So, you should now have an idea of what your ram can achieve at non-clocked speeds. So, first things first:

You need to merge EVERYTHING together, and get your system set to your highest FSB / multiplier combo, all the voltages set, and set MEMORY voltage to its MAX.Just for a laugh, try the highest settings for memory bandwidth that you could get at non-clocked speeds. It'll probably no-post, so clear CMOS. Now do you see why I told you to take notes??

Let's continue ->

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/02

I have an AMD 855 mhz cpu with a Jabil AMD R4 Motherboard. I was wondering if there is a program able to OC them (my bios does not support it) and their optimal settings.

most OEM computer system have very low support for overclocking through the BIOS (*read: none*)

You could try to look for an older tweak software called "SoftFSB", it is no longer supported or developed, but it supported some older motherboards (VIA KT133), but I'm not sure if it will support yours.

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/02

Yeah it is a Gateway(sux so much). I'm looking into building a new computer(can't wait). Thnx a lot.

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/02

Appartently(and Unfortunately) the "SoftFSB" doesn't support my Jabil motherboard. I'll go on to the next, which is my CPU. I need a program(bios doesn't work) to OC my AMD Thunderbird 850. I've been looking for awhile.

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/02

I have a Barton 2500+ and am a little leery of OC ... although, I guess I'm here, reading.

I don't have a steady source of income, and the consulting I do does rely on this machine. However, my video gaming also relies on this machine, and I'm interested in better performance.

With the factory heatsink from AMD and an array of 6 fans for cooling, what level of danger is there in OCing a bit?

(Need validation ... heh.)

Comment
from piotke@ 2003/11/02

just monitor the temperatures. While overclocking, on not too high voltages your CPU should stay under 50° C.

It will work on higher temps, but there is a big possibility for instability

Comment
from jmke@ 2003/11/02

Quote:

Originally posted by Unregistered to OC my AMD Thunderbird 850. I've been looking for awhile.

you "could" paint the bridges on your Tbird to give it a higher multiplier, thereby overclocking your CPU without the need of any bios and/or software tool. But there is a much higher risk involved since you need to remove the CPU from the socket, use a carbon pencil to paint over the correct bridges and then hope you didn't make any false contacts.

and when eventually you get to buy a new PC, try it out then on the old Tbird

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/02

Thnx jmke you've been a great help, I've also located a good source on what different voltages(some or all with a different heatsink) on my T-Bird 850 will turn out. They did all the work, Overclockers.com is a good source.

Comment
from Avalon@ 2003/11/03

This guide shouldn't be called AMD optimal bios settings. It only shows clockspeed/voltages/mem timings settings. There are other important bios options for a succesfull overclock.

Comment
from Bosw8er@ 2003/11/03

Quote:

Originally posted by Unregistered Appartently(and Unfortunately) the "SoftFSB" doesn't support my Jabil motherboard. I'll go on to the next, which is my CPU. I need a program(bios doesn't work) to OC my AMD Thunderbird 850. I've been looking for awhile.

The T-bird 850 was my most lousy OC'er.
With VERY LOUD aircooling it only did 950, no matter what i tried. Ain't worth the effort.

Comment
from jmke@ 2003/11/03

Quote:

Originally posted by Avalon There are other important bios options for a succesfull overclock.

what other settings do you suggest?
it is correct that this guide is aimed strongly towards the memory timings only.

these are the other ones I disable for getting the highest overclock
*Video Memory Cache Mode = disabled
*Spread Spectrum = disabled

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/04

with the "agp speed" in the nvidia based program. should this be increased? or kept @ original settings? what does increasing the agp speed actually do / what damage can it cause?

im on a 2500+ @ 2.3ghz ( so far ) i tried 200x12 but it froze after about 10mins. i think ill mess with it latest based on this guide see if i cant push it further. althou i am on stock cooling.

my vid card is a Radeon 9700np

Ta.

Comment
from jmke@ 2003/11/04

increasing the AGP speed will have an increase in overall 3D games as effect, but not all cards support higher AGP speeds, the ATI 9700 is pretty sensitive to increased AGP speeds.

I determined 169 was the highest FSB I can post with.
169x12.5 = 2112.5

The Nvida System Utility correctly shows the FSB as 338 and from there I can raise the 338 to 352 and it runs GREAT at 2.2 GHZ!!
By this rational, I should be able to set my FSB in the BIOS to 176 (352 div by 2) and have it post successfully....right? Nope. It wont.
I have to reset the bios and start over.

WHY? I can't figure it out.
I can't *boot* at 2.2GHz but I *can* go into windows and raise it to 2.2 GHz and have it run fine.

Any help?

Comment
from Gamer@ 2003/11/05

did you do some tests with the tool and without ?

Comment
from cowbite@ 2003/11/05

I ran aquamark and 3dmark03 both of which show better scores after the overclocking. I just dont want to have to screw with the nvidia utility every time I reboot. And apparently there are advanced options in the util that are unavailable to me for some reason. My understanding is that the advanced options apply themselves at every boot.

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/21

i have a asus A7V8X is there a program that could easily overclock it, without me going into bios. My friend has a gigabyte mobo and he has a utility like that could i install/use it on this mobo?

Comment
from cowbite@ 2003/11/21

-Post Edited-
Sorry, my original post was about the nvidia system util but I didnt realize the mobo you were talking about was a KT400 chipset board :\

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/27

sir could i have your advice on why can't i tweak my multipilier, if i change it even at .5 my system won't post, is there something i'm missing?

Your CPU is multiplier locked. Meaning, you cannot change multiplier, only the front side bus (FSB). There are methods of unlocking CPUS - some that are easy and some that put your cpu in serious peril if you mess up. I used the easiest and safest route and bought a speed-strip from www.speed-strip.com (actually I bought it somewhere else).
Review here : http://www.overclockercafe.com/Revie...c/Speed-Strip/

Provided your CPU's ID starts with "AXDA" (see website or review site) then you can use it. You just put it under the CPU as per instructed and it unlocks it. Then you can set your FSB as you like.

Comment
from Tum0r@ 2003/11/27

Is there a way so I can put 2 shortcuts on my sektop that will set my rig on low speed (downloading or surfing) or high (gaming ...) without having to go in nvdia system ultility and moving the slider along?

but at the same time changed the vcore (what I cant do with nvidia system utility but with 8rdaVcore)

Is this with reg files or? I dont hav a clue how these progs change what they change

now support nForce2 chipsets, it allows you to make shortcuts to overclock to a certain,

you'd still need to manually adjust the vcore though :/

Comment
from Tum0r@ 2003/11/27

I'le do just that

ps. A good tweaked winXp pro should use xxx amount of ram? About 125mb is ok or can u do whole lot better?

I'm inpressed that clockgen can change with less than 1mhz but doesnt hav an advantage over nvidia system utitlity as I still hav to open clockgen and then load the saved config (same as Nsu)

Nsu can change the ram setting to and clockgen cant...

I was hoping to get shotcuts (hihg and low settings) on my desktop

I just noticed the pci goes up together with my agp speed
Thats not right?

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/28

Hey i was wondering if there is any way to over clock my Compaq
Specs
AMD 2400 xp @1995
Unkown mem came with the rig (512mb)
80 gig hardrive(i know that this really does not apply to the OC accievable)
Compaq mobo
I have a duct to the cpu fan and 3 extra case fans i can keep the temp in the case about 2-3 degrees above room temp while playing UT 2k1 at all of the highest possible settings
Nvidia Quadro 750xgl
Could i flash it with a bios from another board by any chance i can overclock the Quadro with a tweak to change the mem and core speed. but not the voltage.
So is there any way to get an overclock out of this setup any help would be greatly apreciated thaxs to all that will help

Comment
from Tum0r@ 2003/11/28

clockgen or better yet nvidia system ultility would work for u

about the unknown ram: dl aida wich can id the ram pc2700 or higher will be most likely

u can also find a very usefull guide here @[M!

Comment
from jmke@ 2003/11/28

Compaq motherboard.. compaq usually uses their own layout, bios and software, meaning that tweaking/overclocking on these PC's is most likely impossible :/

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/29

srry the last post i made was about the compaq OC and it is not 2K1 it is 2K3 unreal tournemnet

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/11/29

well is there any way that i could flash the bios to say abit or something like that i am gettin gnew stuff for x-mass

AutoFSB automatically sets the FSB depending on the CPU load. First you must know your min. and
max. FSB, set them with the FSB trackbar and the Max. and Min. buttons. You also should set some
VCore-presets, use the trackbars for this. The VCore is increased/decreased if a saved preset is
reached. Then use min./max. Load to determine when the FSB is decreased or increased and the two
delay options to set how long it should wait before increasing or decreasing. Now you can set a
max. CPU temp. If the CPU temp. is greater than this value, the FSB is not increased anymore. If
you have set the "FSB down on MT" (Max. Temp) checkbox, AutoFSB will decrease your FSB if the CPU
temp. is greater than max. Temp.

For example, max. Load is 80%, min. Load 20%, Delay (max) 30s, Delay (min) 2min and Max. Temp 45 with
"FSB down on MT" checked:
If the CPU load is greater than 80% for 30s it increases the FSB until CPU load is less than 80%
or to max. FSB. It stops increasing the FSB if the CPU temp is 45 degress. If the CPU load is less
than 20% for 2 minutes it decreases the FSB until CPU load is greater than 20% or until
min. FSB is reached. The FSB is also decreased if the CPU temp is greater than 45 degress (if
FSB down on MT is checked).

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/12/16

Help My system is frozen.

Asus a7v-133 w/ Athlon 1.4

The highest CPU speed I got from step 1 was 1466. That's with fsb 133 and multiplier at 11.0. The system wouldn't boot up at 11.5 and when I uped the voltage by .5 to 2.0 the monitor wouldn't turn on and the computer wouldn't shut off. I had to pull the plug which reset the bios to the minimum speed of 1024 I think? I am able to change voltage and multplier in increments of .5. I think the default vCore was 1.5.

So I took 1466 as my highest Mhz. On to step 2 I divided 1466 by 166 and got 8.8 which I rounded down to 8.5. When I restarted the system with 8.5 multiplier and 166 fsb the system froze. i.e. the monitor shut off and the computer wouldn't respond to the reset button or power switch. I unplugged it and plugged it back in but although the lights are on the computer, the monitor won't light up.

Help?!

Tim

Comment
from Unregistered@ 2003/12/16

well I did a quick search and found out about resetting the bios by using the cmos pins to clear the memory or something like that. Anyway it booted right up and I have taken the "Wuss" route for the moment and am just running my 1.4 at 1.46666666. I might get back to the process of overclocking but for the moment I'll probably just fantasize about my dream system rather than about pushing a few more mhz of power out of this old donkey.

Tim

Comment
from FreeStyler@ 2003/12/16

1.4G AMD's aren't quite the OC fellows. Last of the line, and producing up to date the most heat of any AMD CPU...
unless you got some exotic cooling, you'd better not piush it. (they also didn't have thermal control yet)

Also, when upping the FSB, it says in the article that when my comp freezes or gets a bluescreen, I have to up the memory voltage but when I'm trying to get the tightest ram timings, I'm supposed to set te memory voltage to max? Why even bother? Why not set te memory voltage to max right away and see what fsb you can reach with it, then try tighten the ram timings...

And another question: Do I just mix my testing results in the order that was described in the article or is there no specific order and do I just bench to see what multiplier*FSB//timings gets me the best score?
(With "in order" I mean first multi*FSB then timings or first timings, then multi*FSB?)

Comment
from kristos@ 2004/01/25

Oh crap, another thing I forgot to ask but I couldn't edit anymore (I'll register right after this )

Jmke: you said you set *Video Memory Cache Mode = disabled
that's the same as video ram cacheable = disabled ...right?

My guess is yes offcourse but I'm not 100% so I'd rather ask

PS: Anyone know a good site that explains bios settings really wel cuz' most manuals suck to say the very least and the manufacturers site's are usually no great help eather :/

It's to get a better understanding off the less obvious bios settings, what they do and what the best setting is performance wise.
Settings like in the background of this pic (under memory timings):

(c) Howstuffworks.com
Chipsets
Chipsets provide the support for the processor chip on the motherboard. The chipset is the heart of the computer since it controls and determines how fast and which type of processor, memory, and slots are used

when you seem to hit a wall in raising the FSB, and nothing works to raise the FSB (the CPU can't cope with the speed, higher vmem, looser timings) it's your chipset that can't keep up with the high FSB

Quote:

Originally posted by kristos
Why even bother? Why not set te memory voltage to max right away and see what fsb you can reach with it, then try tighten the ram timings...

that's the wrong way, sorry. there's nothing really wrong with raising the voltage from start, but start with the tightest timings. when you're raising the FSB and you can't get higher, then you have to loosen the timings to get higher. if you set your timings and voltage to the maximum right away, you don't know if it's your memory who's actually stopping you from raising the FSB because the voltage and timings are already at the maximum

most people prefer tight timings, so they start with tight timings. when their FSB is about at the limit with the highest timings, they loosen the timings to see if the FSB gets higher and to see if the FSB gain with looser timings is faster

Quote:

Originally posted by kristos
And another question: Do I just mix my testing results in the order that was described in the article or is there no specific order and do I just bench to see what multiplier*FSB//timings gets me the best score?
(With "in order" I mean first multi*FSB then timings or first timings, then multi*FSB?)

yeah, it's all about finding the fastest settings

Quote:

Originally posted by kristos PS: Anyone know a good site that explains bios settings really wel cuz' most manuals suck to say the very least and the manufacturers site's are usually no great help eather :/

Originally posted by TeuS the chipset voltage obviously controls ... the chipset voltage

when you seem to hit a wall in raising the FSB, and nothing works to raise the FSB (the CPU can't cope with the speed, higher vmem, looser timings) it's your chipset that can't keep up with the high FSB

And what about when I can't get a higher multiplier, does upping the chipset voltage help to obtain higher mulitplier? Or does this ONLY work when you can't get FSB higher and upping your ram voltage doesn't help?

Quote:

Originally posted by TeuS that's the wrong way, sorry. there's nothing really wrong with raising the voltage from start, but start with the tightest timings. when you're raising the FSB and you can't get higher, then you have to loosen the timings to get higher. if you set your timings and voltage to the maximum right away, you don't know if it's your memory who's actually stopping you from raising the FSB because the voltage and timings are already at the maximum

most people prefer tight timings, so they start with tight timings. when their FSB is about at the limit with the highest timings, they loosen the timings to see if the FSB gets higher and to see if the FSB gain with looser timings is faster

Well, it said in the article: to find your tightest timings; raise the memory voltage to max. So I figured: If you get stuck, it's either timings holding you back in reaching higher FSB or it's the proc (,mobo?) that just can't take higher FSB's, but it's not because of the voltage because it's already at max.

Other than that it's just like you said, testing to see what FSB//RAM timings works best

Comment
from jmke@ 2004/01/25

Quote:

not because of the voltage because it's already at max.

that your motherboard allows, if want to squeeze every last ounce of performance out of your ram you might want to raise it up to 3.2+v :grin:

Comment
from TeuS@ 2004/01/25

Quote:

Originally posted by kristos
And what about when I can't get a higher multiplier, does upping the chipset voltage help to obtain higher mulitplier? Or does this ONLY work when you can't get FSB higher and upping your ram voltage doesn't help?

raising the chipset voltage only helps when the chipset can't go any higher, and you really can't know if it's your memory, CPU (!) or mainboard stopping you from raising the FSB

Originally posted by kristos
Well, it said in the article: to find your tightest timings; raise the memory voltage to max. So I figured: If you get stuck, it's either timings holding you back in reaching higher FSB or it's the proc (,mobo?) that just can't take higher FSB's, but it's not because of the voltage because it's already at max.

yep, that's right

Comment
from kristos@ 2004/01/28

When I try to reach my highest multiplier (166*XX; 177*XX;etc.), do I keep my memory on a 1:1 divider, do I keep it on it's standard Mhz (pc3200 @ 400Mhz), or does it make no difference at all in my quest for highest OC on multiplier?

Comment
from TeuS@ 2004/01/28

1:1 is usually the best choice

Comment
from jmke@ 2004/01/28

.. for performance is your memory is capable of the increased speeds

Comment
from kristos@ 2004/01/29

if I set the ram on a 1:1 divider it'll be running at lower then specified Mhz
That shouldn't be a problem.

Comment
from Chiptek@ 2005/09/04

The guide is good but not specific enough can you clarify a couple of things for me?

1. You say about finding the max mhz which sounds easy enough however at which point should we stop raising the voltage? 1.9? i sure as heck aint raising the voltage on my 2600+ 333 t/bred to its maximum. So where should i stop ?

Also i noticed something really strange. I downloaded 3dmark 2001se and did the tests after each multiplier increase. Was doing great until i got to 13.5 and then it seemed as if the fps in the program wasnt picking up correctly and at the end the score was like only 6000 compared to teh 13385 when multiplier was at 13? what causes this

I have 1 gig dual ddr ram pc2700 cheapo stuff. and a radeon 9800 pro. My systsem is watercooled however the cpu temp reads 47 when multiplier is at 14 this good or bad?